Call management

ABSTRACT

When a call is received for a device within an area of coverage, all devices within the area of coverage are rung. The call may be connected to the first device that picks up. All devices may be rung at the same time or in a predetermined order. For example, the first device rung may be a device that was most recently moved, a device that was most recently active, based on a time of day, or the like.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The instant application is a continuation of, and claims priority to,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/342,602, filed Dec. 23, 2008. U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/342,602 is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technical field generally relates to wireless communications andmore specifically relates to wireless communication via femtocells.

BACKGROUND

Communications devices such as cellular telephones, mobile communicationdevices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops, and the like arebecoming more prevalent as users appreciate the smaller form factors,increased functionality, and the mobility of the devices. It is notuncommon for a household to give up its land lines and use mobiledevices exclusively. To that end, femtocells have been growing inpopularity. Use of a femtocell can prevent dead zones with its area ofcoverage. A femtocell can be thought of as a small wireless base stationhaving a limited area of coverage. Femtocells are typically designed forresidential or small business use. Commonly, a femtocell acts as aconnection to an Internet and as a wireless router to various wirelessdevices. Calls are connected to the devices via an approved wirelessinterface and the call is backhauled (communicated to a communicationsnetwork) via the Internet. A problem with exclusively using wirelessmobile devices, even via a femtocell, is that the device can be in alocation other than the location of the user. For example, a device canbe in one room of a house and the user can be in another room of thehouse. When a call comes in, if the user can hear the device “ringing,”the user must hurry to the mobile device to answer it, possibly missingthe call. Or, the user may not hear the device ringing, and miss thecall.

SUMMARY

In an example configuration, when a call is received for a device withina femtocell area of coverage, all devices within the femtocell area ofcoverage are provided a notification of the call (e.g., all devicesring). As a device enters the femtocell area of coverage, it is detectedby the femtocell, and the device's identifier, (e.g., MSISDN or thelike), is maintained in a list. When a call comes in for any one of thedevices, all devices on the list are sent a notification of the call.The call is connected, via the femtocell, to the first device to answer,e.g., respond, the call. The device that answers the call may, or maynot, be the device to which the call was originally directed. Thefemtocell manages the call such that, to the communications network fromwhich the call was sent, it appears as though the intended device haspicked up the call. As a device exits the femtocell's area of coverage,its identifier is removed from the list.

In one example configuration, an indication of the call is provided tothe devices in the femtocell's area of coverage in a predeterminedorder. In another example configuration, the indication of the call isprovided first, to the device that has most recently been moved. Inanother example configuration, the indication of the call is providedfirst, to the device that has most recently been active (e.g., receivedcall, placed call, etc.).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description is better understood when read in conjunctionwith the appended drawings.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example femtocell in communications witha communications network and example communications devices.

FIG. 2 depicts ringing communications devices in accordance with thelocations of the communications devices and priorities of the locations.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process for maintaininginformation pertaining to communications devices.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for providing anindication of a call to a communications device in an area of coverageof a femtocell.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an example femtocell.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

In an example embodiment, a femtocell is configured to ring all mobilecommunications devices, concurrently, within its area of coverage when acalls comes in for any one device. This helps to alleviate the problem,when only a single device is rung, of missing a call if the user of thedevice is not close enough to the device when it rings. In variousexample embodiments, all devices are not rung concurrently, but are rungin a predetermined order. The order can be determined in accordance withthe predetermined location (a region or zone within the femtocell areaof coverage) of the devices within the femtocell area of coverage, inaccordance with the devices themselves, or a combination thereof. Forexample, as described in more detail below, zones, such as rooms/areasof a house or office, can be assigned a priority value, and devices inthe zones can be rung, consecutively, in priority value order. Or, asanother example, devices can be assigned a priority value, and devicescan be rung in the priority order. Thus, zones or devices that areexpected to receive the most calls can be rung first, and as theexpectance of calls decreases, the zone/device can be placed lower onthe priority list.

The device to be rung first can be the highest device on the prioritylist, or can be determined in accordance with recent activity and/ormovement associated with the device. For example, accelerometers on adevice can be utilized to inform the femtocell of motion of the device.When a call comes in for any device in the femtocell area of coverage,the device that most recently indicated motion can be rung first. Or,the device that was most recently active (e.g., received call, sentcall, etc.) can be the first device to be rung.

When a device “answers” the call, it may or may not be the device thatwas originally called. Accordingly, the femtocell connects the answeringdevice to the network and facilitates the call such that, to thenetwork, it appears that the called device has been connected.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example femtocell 12 in communicationswith a communications network 14 and example communications devices 16,18, 20, 22, and 24. The femtocell 12 can comprise any appropriatefemtocell. In an example configuration, the femtocell 12 is a portabledevice that can be deployed in various locations. The femtocell 12communicates with the devices 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, via a wirelessinterface. Any appropriate wireless interface can be utilized forcommunications between the femtocell 12 and the devices 16, 18, 20, 22,24. For example, the wireless link can be in accordance with thefollowing protocols: GSM, CDMA, WIMAX, WIFI, ZIGBEE, or a combinationthereof. Example power output of the femtocell 12 can be from 0.5 to 0.1Watts. The femtocell 12 is coupled to the communications network 14 viainterface 26. The interface 26 can comprise any appropriate interface,such as, for example, an IP packet data interface (e.g., the Internet).

Communications devices 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, represent any appropriatetype and number of communications devices configured to communicate withthe femtocell 12. A communications device can comprise a mobile deviceor a stationary device. A communications device, can include, forexample, a portable media player, a portable music player, such as anMP3 player, a walkman, a portable computing device, such as a laptop, apersonal digital assistant (“PDA”), a portable phone, such as a cellphone or the like, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)phone, a video phone, a portable email device, a portable gaming device,a consumer electronic device, such as a TV, a DVD player, a set top box,a navigation device and/or a non-conventional computing device, such asa kitchen appliance, or a combination thereof.

As communications devices enter and exit the area of coverage (depictedby the building outline 36) of the femtocell 12, the femtocell 12maintains information about the communications devices, as depicted inexample table 28. When a communications device enters the area ofcoverage 36 of the femtocell 12, the communications device registerswith the femtocell 12. In an example embodiment, the femtocell 12obtains information about the communications device, such as thecommunications device's MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber Integrated ServicesDigital Network Number), as shown in column 32 of the table 28. Thefemtocell 12 can use a device's MSISDN as an identifier, or can assignan identifier to a device, such as shown in column 30 of the table 28.Also as depicted in the table 28 in column 34, the femtocell 12maintains an indication as to whether a device is within its area ofcoverage. Thus, as a device exits the area of coverage 36 of thefemtocell 12, this is recorded in the table 28 in column 34. Thefemtocell 12 can maintain information about a device after it exits itsarea of coverage or the femtocell 12 can delete all information about adevice after is exits its area of coverage.

When a call comes in, via the communication network 14 for example, fora communications device within the area of coverage 36 of the femtocell12, in an example embodiment, all communications devices 16, 18, 20, 22,24 are rung. That is, all communications devices 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 areprovided an indication of the call by the femtocell 12. The femtocell 12connects the call to the device that answers first. The femtocell 12facilitates the call such that the network 14 perceives the answeringdevice to be the called device. In an example embodiment, this isaccomplished by utilizing the information (e.g., the MSISDNs) obtainedfrom the devices by the femtocell 12. In an example embodiment, thefemtocell 12 simulates a call flow as being from the device that wascalled by transcoding the actual call flow into a spoofed call flow. Thespoofed call flow mirrors the call flow as though it were with thecalled device. In another example embodiment, the femtocell activates acall transfer of the call to the number of the answering device. Forexample, if a call comes in for communications device 24, the femtocell12 will ring all communications devices 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24. In thisexample, if the user answers the call on communications device 18, thefemtocell 12 will connect the call to the communications device 18, andprovide information to the network 14 indicating that communicationsdevice 24 has answered the call.

Rather than ringing all communications devices concurrently,communications devices can be rung in a desired order. In an exampleembodiment, communications devices are rung in an order determined bythe location of the device and a priority of the location. FIG. 2depicts ringing communications devices in accordance with the locationsof the communications devices and priorities of the locations. As shownin FIG. 2, example zones within the area of coverage of the femtocell 12include an office 36, a studio 38, a bedroom 40, a garage 42, and abackyard 44. In the example scenario depicted in FIG. 2, during the day,the user is most likely to be, in ascending priority order, in hisoffice 36, his studio 38, his garage 42, his backyard 4, and hisbedroom. During the evening, the user will most likely be in other zonesof home in a different priority order. For example, as depicted in FIG.2, during the evening, the user is most likely to be, in ascendingpriority order, in his studio 38, his backyard 44, his bedroom 3, hisgarage 42, and his office 36. When a call comes in for a communicationsdevice within the area of coverage of the femtocell 12, in an exampleembodiment, the time of day is determined, the location of thecommunications devices are determined, the priority of the locations isdetermined, and the devices in the highest priority location are rungfirst, the communications devices in the next lower priority locationrung next, etc.

In an example scenario, using the designations of FIG. 1 for thecommunications devices, as shown in FIG. 2, communications devices 16and 22 are located in the office 36, communications device 20 is locatedin the studio 38, communications device 18 is located in the bedroom 40,and communications device 24 is located in the garage 42. Nocommunications devices are located in the backyard 44. In this examplescenario, day is considered to be between the hours of 8:00 AM and 6:00PM, and evening is considered to be between the hours of 6:00 PM and8:00 AM; and it is now 4:00 PM. If a call comes in for anycommunications device within the area of coverage of the femtocell 12,the femtocell 12 will determine the time (4:00 PM=Day), will determinethe priority table to use (upper table in FIG. 2), determine thepriority of designated locations, and determine the location of thecommunications devices within its area of coverage. In this examplescenario, because the user is most likely to be in his office 36 (has #1priority), communications devices 16 and 22 are rung first. If the callis not answered by communications device 16 or 22 (within anyappropriate number of rings), communications devices in the next lowerpriority location are rung. In this scenario, because the studio 38 isthe location having the next lower priority, communications device 20 isrung. If the call is not answered by communications device 20,communications device 24 is rung next because it is located in the nextlower priority location having a communications device located therein(the garage 42=priority #3). Finally, if the call is not answered bycommunications device 24, communications device 18 is rung because it islocated in the next lower priority location having a communicationsdevice located therein (the bedroom 40=priority #5). At this point, thecall can be handled in any appropriate manner, such as, for example,transferred to voice mail or dropped. If a communications device(s)cannot be located and the femtocell knows that the communicationsdevice(s) is in its area of coverage, the communications device(s) canbe rung last.

Communications devices can be located in any appropriate manner. Forexample, communications devices can be located via GPS (GlobalPositioning System), A-GPS (Assisted Global Positioning System), timedifference of arrival calculations, time of arrival calculations, angleof arrival calculations, via user entered information, or anycombination thereof. If a communications device is configured with a GPSreceiver, the communications device can provide information to thefemtocell 12 pertaining to its location as determined by the GPS. Thefemtocell 12 can receive information pertaining to the location of adevice via A-GPS. In an example embodiment, a user can walk throughhis/her house and provide location information or specific spots (e.g.,waypoints) to the femtocell 12. For example, the user can stand at thecenter of the living room and provide location information to thefemtocell, such as an X/Y coordinate, a lat/long value, or the like. Thefemtocell could prompt the user to provide information as to the name ofthe room and use this located a device. For example, the user couldstand in the middle of the living room and send a signal (e.g., via amobile communications device) to the femtocell indicating that the userwant to register a waypoint (name a location). The femtocell, uponreceiving signal and noting the location, can send a prompt to the userasking for the name of the location, e.g., living room. Subsequently,when the femtocell 12 detects a device in proximity to the registeredwaypoint, the femtocell determines that the device is in the livingroom.

In an example embodiment, the femtocell 12 can determine the location ofa communications device via various calculation techniques. For example,the femtocell 12 can send a signal to all communications device withinits area of coverage, and measure the time of response from eachcommunications device. This information can be used to locate a devicevia time difference of arrival calculations and/or time of arrivalcalculations. If the femtocell has directional capability and canmeasure the angle of arrival of a response from each communicationsdevice, the femtocell 12 can determine the location of eachcommunications device via angle of arrival calculations. Locations ofdesignated areas can be provided to the femtocell 12 in any appropriatemanner. For example, a user could enter coordinates of designated areas(e.g., perimeter of office 36, etc.), a designated area could beregistered with the femtocell 12 by the user walking the perimeter of anarea with a transponder, communications device, or the like, thatprovide location information to the femtocell 12.

In another example embodiment, the first communications device to berung by the femtocell is the communications device that most recentlywas moved and/or was active. As a communications device is moved,sensors on the communications device detect the motion. Sensors caninclude motion sensors, tilt sensors, accelerometers, a camera, etc.,for example. The communications device provides an indication, to thefemtocell, that the device was moved and the time it was moved. Thefemtocell stores this information. When a call is received, thefemtocell accesses its storage to determine the communications devicethat was most recently moved, and rings that device first. If the callis not answered within any appropriate number of rings, the femtocellcan concurrently ring all remaining communications devices within itsarea of coverage or ring the communications devices in a predeterminedand/or priority order as described above. Similarly, the communicationsdevice that was most recently active can be rung first. This can beimplemented for communications devices that do not have the ability tosense motion. Activity can include sending a call and/or receiving acall. A call can include voice data, audio data, a text message, animage, video, multimedia, steaming data, connecting to a network (e.g.,the Internet), or any combination thereof.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process for maintaininginformation pertaining to communications devices via a femtocell. As acommunications device enters an area of coverage of a femtocell, thecommunications device is detected at step 52. The communications devicecan be detected by the femtocell in any appropriate manner. For example,the communications device initiates detection by sending a signal to thefemtocell or the femtocell can initiate the detection. A device canrescan for better coverage during a call or while idle. Upon detectionof a better/stronger signal (e.g., from the femtocell), the device willperform a cell site handover to the femtocell. The rescan can occur whenthe network coverage starts to drop below a predetermined level, and/orwhen the stronger femtocell signal is detected. The communicationsdevice registers with the femtocell at step 54. Registration includesthe femtocell receiving information about the communications device inorder to allow the femtocell and the communications device tocommunicate therebetween. An identifier for the communications device isdetermined at step 56. The identifier can be an identifier generated bythe femtocell, an identifier provided by the communications device(e.g., MSISDN of the communications device), or a combination thereof.The identifier of the communications device is maintained by thefemtocell. Information pertaining to the communications device is addedand/or updated at step 58. In an example embodiment, the identifier ofthe communications device is added, at step 58, to a list, or the like,that is stored on the femtocell. Also at step 58, the informationmaintained by the femtocell can be updated to indicate that thecommunications device is within the femtocell's area of coverage (asdepicted in table 28 of FIG. 1, for example). As a communications deviceexit the area of coverage of the femtocell, the communications deviceexit is detected at step 60. In an example embodiment, once acommunications device is registered with a femtocell, the femtocell andthe communications device communicate routinely with each other. Whenthe femtocell does not receive a routine communication from thecommunications device, the femtocell determines that the communicationsdevice is no longer in its area of converge.

If it is detected, at step 60, that a communications device has exitedthe area of coverage of the femtocell, information pertaining to thecommunications device is removed and/or updated at step 64. Theidentifier, or identifiers, associated with the exiting communicationsdevice can be removed. In an example embodiment, identificationinformation is not removed when a communications device exits the areaof coverage of the femtocell. Thus, when the communications device nextenters the area of coverage of the femtocell, the same identificationinformation can be used. Also at step 64, information maintained by thefemtocell can be updated to indicate that the communications device isnot within the femtocell's area of coverage (as depicted in table 28 ofFIG. 1, for example). If needed, he exiting communications device isunregistered from the femtocell at step 66.

In an example embodiment, the femtocell monitors for communicationsdevices entering and exiting its area of coverage as depicted by steps60 and 62. If a device is detected, at step 62, entering the area ofcoverage of the femtocell, the process moves to step 52 and proceedstherefrom as described above. And, if a communications device isdetected, at step 60, exiting the area of coverage of the femtocell, theprocess moves to step 64 and proceeds therefrom as described above.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for providing anindication of a call to a communications device in an area of coverageof a femtocell. A call is received for one of the communications devicesin the area of coverage of the femtocell at step 68. At step 70, it isdetermined if all communications devices in the area of coverage of thefemtocell are to be provided an indication of the call. The decision toprovide an indication of the call to all communications devices in thearea of coverage of the femtocell (ring all) can be determined in anyappropriate manner. As described above, the decision to ring all can bedetermined in accordance with information stored in the femtocell thatis indicative of a user's preferences. Thus, a user can preprogram thefemtocell to ring all communications devices within its area of coveragewhen a call comes in for any one of the communications devices. If it isdecided, at step 70, to ring all communications device within the areaof coverage of the femtocell, information that is maintained by thefemtocell pertaining to the communications devices within the area ofcoverage of the femtocell is accessed at step 72. For example, theMSISDN, or appropriate number to call for each communications device isaccessed. All communications device within the area of coverage of thefemtocell are rung at step 74. That is, an indication of the call isprovided to all communications devices within the area of coverage ofthe femtocell. The indication of the call can be provided in anyappropriate manner, such as, for example, providing an audibleindication, providing a mechanical indication (vibration), providing avisual indication, providing an olfactory indications (e.g., activatingchemicals stored on a communications device to provide an odor), or anycombination thereof.

If, at step 70, if it is decided not to provide an indication of thecall to all communications devices within the area of coverage of thefemtocell, then the communications devices within the area of coverageof the femtocell are provided the notification of the call in apredetermined order. At step 76, it is determined if a preferredcommunications device is to be provided the indication of the callfirst. If a communications device is preferred to be rung first (step76), it is determined, at step 78, if the most recently movedcommunications device is to be rung first or if the communicationsdevice with the most recent activity is to be rung first. If the mostrecently moved communications device is to be rung first, thecommunications device that was most recently moved is determined at step80. This can be determined in any appropriate manner, for example, whena communications device is moved, a sensor, or sensors, on the devicecan detect the motion, and the communications device can provide anindication, to the femtocell, that the communications device has beenmoved and the time of the movement. In another example embodiment, thecommunication device can send an indication that it has been moved, andthe femtocell can record a time associated with receipt of theindication. Example sensors include a motion sensor, a tilt sensor, anaccelerometer, and a camera. The communications device that was mostrecently moved is provided an indication of the call at step 82. If thecall is not answered, the process proceeds to step 88 to ring thecommunications devices within the area of coverage of the femtocell in apredetermined order. In an example embodiment, the communications devicethat was most recently moved is not rung again, because it was alreadyrung and not answered.

At step 78, if it is determined, that the most recently activecommunications device is to be rung first, the communications devicethat was most recently active is determined at step 84. This can beimplemented for communications devices that do not have the ability tosense motion, although it is not limited thereto. Activity can includesending a call and/or receiving a call. A call can include voice data,audio data, a text message, an image, video, multimedia, steaming data,connecting to a network (e.g., the Internet), or any combinationthereof. In an example embodiment, when activity on the communicationdevice ends, the femtocell can record the time associated with the endof the activity. The femtocell can check the stored information todetermine the communications device that was most recently active. Thecommunications device that was most recently active is provided anindication of the call at step 86 (rung first). If the call is notanswered, the process proceeds to step 88 to ring the communicationsdevices within the area of coverage of the femtocell in a predeterminedorder. In an example embodiment, the communications device that was mostrecently active is not rung again, because it was already rung and notanswered.

At step 76, if the most recently moved or most recently active device isnot preferred to be rung first, the process proceed to step 88, where itis determined if the communications devices within the area of coverageof the femtocell to be rung in a predetermined order should be rung inpriority of location or priority of device. If the communicationsdevices are to be rung in priority of location, at step 90, the locationor each communications device within the area of coverage of thefemtocell is determined. As described above, the location of eachcommunications device can be determine in any appropriate manner, suchas, for example, via GPS, A-GPS, time difference of arrivalcalculations, time of arrival calculations, angle of arrivalcalculations, via user entered information, or any combination thereof.Upon determining the location of each communications device within thearea of coverage of the femtocell, the communications devices are rungin location-priority order at step 94.

If, at step 88, it is determined that the communications devices withinthe area of coverage of the femtocell are to be rung in priority ofdevice, at step 92, the device priority is determined As describedabove, communications devices can be assigned a priority value. Upondetermining the priority value of each communications device within thearea of coverage of the femtocell, the communications devices are rungin device-priority order at step 94.

When a communications device answers, at step 96, the process ends atstep 100. If the communications devices being rung is not answered, theprocess continues ringing all communications devices (at step 94) withinthe area of coverage of the femtocell until all communications deviceshave been rung. If not communications device answers, at step 98, theprocess can end, the call can be sent to voice mail, and/or the call canbe transferred, or the like.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an example femtocell 102. It isemphasized that the block diagram depicted in FIG. 5 is exemplary andnot intended to imply a specific implementation or configuration.Accordingly, the femtocell 102 can be implemented in a single processoror multiple processors. Multiple processors can be distributed orcentrally located. Multiple processors can communicate wirelessly, viahard wire, or a combination thereof.

In an example configuration, the s femtocell 102 comprises a processingportion 104, a memory portion 106, and an input/output portion 108. Theprocessing portion 104, memory portion 106, and input/output portion 108are coupled together (coupling not shown in FIG. 5) to allowcommunications therebetween. The input/output portion 108 is capable ofreceiving and/or providing information from/to a communications device.For example, the input/output portion 106 is capable of providing a callto all communications devices within an area of coverage of thefemtocell, providing a call to communications devices in a predeterminedorder, providing a call to a communications device that was mostrecently moved, providing a call to a communications device that wasmost recently active, receiving an indication of motion from acommunications device, receiving a call from a communications device, orany combination thereof, as described above. In various configurations,the input/output portion 108 can receive and/or provide information viaany appropriate means, such as, for example, optical means (e.g.,infrared), electromagnetic means (e.g., GSM, CDMA, RF, WI-FI, BLUETOOTH,ZIGBEE, etc.), acoustic means (e.g., speaker, microphone, ultrasonicreceiver, ultrasonic transmitter), or a combination thereof. In variousconfigurations, the input/output portion 108 can receive and/or provideinformation wirelessly, via a wired connection, or a combinationthereof.

The processing portion 104 is capable of performing functions associatedwith communicating with communications devices within an area ofcoverage of the femtocell 102. For example, as described above, theprocessing portion 104 is capable of detecting a communications device,registering a communications device, adding information stored in thefemtocell, removing information stored in the femtocell, updatinginformation stored in the femtocell, determining if a communicationsdevice has exited the femtocell's area of coverage, unregistering acommunications device, determining the most recently movedcommunications device, determining the most recently activecommunications device, determining a location of a communicationsdevice, determining a location-priority, determining a device-priority,transferring a call, sending a call to voice mail, assigning anidentifier to a communications device, or any combination thereof.

The memory portion 106 can store any information utilized in conjunctionwith communicating with communications devices within an area ofcoverage of the femtocell 102. For example, as described above, thememory portion 106 is capable of storing an identifier of acommunications device (e.g., MSISDN), information pertaining to whethera communications device is within the area of coverage or not within thearea of coverage of the femtocell 102, the location of a communicationsdevice, the priority value assigned to a location, the priority valueassigned to a communications device, time, or a combination thereof.Depending upon the exact configuration and type of femtocell, the memoryportion 106 can include computer readable storage media that is volatile110 (such as dynamic RAM), non-volatile 112 (such as ROM), or acombination thereof. The femtocell 102 can include additional storage,in the form of computer readable storage media (e.g., removable storage114 and/or non-removable storage 116) including, but not limited to,RAM, ROM, EEPROM, tape, flash memory, smart cards, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,universal serial bus (USB) compatible memory, or any other medium whichcan be used to store information and which can be accessed by thefemtocell 102.

The femtocell 102 also can contain communications connection(s) 122 thatallow the femtocell 102 to communicate with other devices, femtocells,or the like. A communications connection(s) can comprise communicationmedia. Computer readable communication media typically embody computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data,that can be transported via a modulated data signal such as a carrierwave or other transport mechanism and includes any information deliverymedia. By way of example, and not limitation, communication mediainclude wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection,and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wirelessmedia. The term computer readable media as used herein includes bothstorage media and communication media. The femtocell 102 also caninclude input device(s) 118 such as keyboard, mouse, pen, voice inputdevice, touch input device, etc. Output device(s) 120 such as a display,speakers, printer, etc. also can be included.

While example embodiments of femtocell call management have beendescribed in connection with various computing devices/processor, theunderlying concepts can be applied to any computing device, processor,or system capable of utilizing and/or implementing femtocell callmanagement. The various techniques described herein can be implementedin connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with acombination of both. Thus, the methods and apparatuses for theutilization of femtocell call management, or certain aspects or portionsthereof, can take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodiedin tangible storage media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, harddrives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when theprogram code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as acomputer, the machine becomes an apparatus for the utilization offemtocell call management. In the case of program code execution onprogrammable computers, the computing device will generally include aprocessor, a storage medium readable by the processor (includingvolatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least oneinput device, and at least one output device. The program(s) can beimplemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. The languagecan be a compiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardwareimplementations.

The methods and apparatuses for femtocell call management also can bepracticed via communications embodied in the form of program code thatis transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electricalwiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form oftransmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded intoand executed by a machine, such as an EPROM, a gate array, aprogrammable logic device (PLD), a client computer, or the like, themachine becomes an apparatus for the utilization of femtocell callmanagement. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the programcode combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus thatoperates to invoke the functionality of femtocell call management.Additionally, any storage techniques used in connection with theutilization of femtocell call management can invariably be a combinationof hardware and software.

While femtocell call management has been described in connection withthe various embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understoodthat other similar embodiments can be used or modifications andadditions can be made to the described embodiment for performing thesame function of femtocell call management without deviating therefrom.For example, one skilled in the art will recognize that femtocell callmanagement as described in the present application may apply to anyenvironment, whether wired or wireless, and may be applied to any numberof such devices connected via a communications network and interactingacross the network. Therefore, femtocell call management should not belimited to any single embodiment, but rather should be construed inbreadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A method comprising: detecting a plurality ofdevices within an area of coverage; determining at least one zone withinthe area of coverage; receiving a call for a designated one of theplurality of devices; determining in which zone, of the at least onezone, each of the plurality of devices is located; assigning arespective priority value to each of the at least one zone; andproviding an indication of the call to all devices located within arespective zone of the at least one zone, consecutively, in priorityvalue order as assigned to each of the at least one zone, wherein arespective priority value assigned to each of the at least one zonediffers depending upon a time of day; and providing an indication of thecall to all devices located within a selected zone of the at least onezone based on the time of day.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising connecting the call to a device that first answers the call.3. The method of claim 1, further comprising connecting the call to thedesignated device when no device answers the call.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: maintaining a plurality of specificidentifiers, each specific identifier of the plurality of identifiersbeing an identifier of a respective one of the plurality of detecteddevices; and providing, via respective specific identifiers, theindication of the call to the plurality of devices.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising: adding to a list of the plurality ofspecific identifiers, a specific identifier of a device upon enteringthe area of coverage; and removing from the list a specific identifierof a device upon exiting the area of coverage.
 6. The method of claim 4,wherein a specific identifier is indicative of a Mobile SubscriberIntegrated Services Digital Network Number of a respective device. 7.The method of claim 1, further comprising: upon connecting the call to aselected one of the plurality of devices that differs from thedesignated one of the plurality of devices, facilitating communicationsto provide an appearance that the call is connected to the designatedone of the plurality of devices.
 8. An apparatus comprising: aprocessor; and memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprisingexecutable instructions that when executed by the processor cause theprocessor to effectuate operations comprising: detecting a plurality ofdevices within an area of coverage; determining at least one zone withinthe area of coverage; receiving a call for a designated one of theplurality of devices; determining in which zone, of the at least onezone, each of the plurality of devices is located; assigning arespective priority value to each of the at least one zone; andproviding an indication of the call to all devices located within arespective zone of the at least one zone, consecutively, in priorityvalue order as assigned to each of the at least one zone, wherein arespective priority value assigned to each of the at least one zonediffers depending upon a time of day; and providing an indication of thecall to all devices located within a selected zone of the at least onezone based on the time of day.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, theoperations further comprising connecting the call to a device that firstanswers the call.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, the operations furthercomprising connecting the call to the designated device when no deviceanswers the call.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8, the operations furthercomprising: maintaining a plurality of specific identifiers, eachspecific identifier of the plurality of identifiers being an identifierof a respective one of the plurality of detected devices; and providing,via respective specific identifiers, the indication of the call to theplurality of devices.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, the operationsfurther comprising: adding to a list of the plurality of specificidentifiers, a specific identifier of a device upon entering the area ofcoverage; and removing from the list a specific identifier of a deviceupon exiting the area of coverage.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein a specific identifier is indicative of a Mobile SubscriberIntegrated Services Digital Network Number of a respective device. 14.The apparatus of claim 8, the operations further comprising: uponconnecting the call to a selected one of the plurality of devices thatdiffers from the designated one of the plurality of devices,facilitating communications to provide an appearance that the call isconnected to the designated one of the plurality of devices.
 15. Acomputer-readable storage medium that is not a propagating signal, thecomputer-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions thatwhen executed by a processor cause the processor to effectuateoperations comprising: detecting a plurality of devices within an areaof coverage; determining at least one zone within the area of coverage;receiving a call for a designated one of the plurality of devices;determining in which zone, of the at least one zone, each of theplurality of devices is located; assigning a respective priority valueto each of the at least one zone; and providing an indication of thecall to all devices located within a respective zone of the at least onezone, consecutively, in priority value order as assigned to each of theat least one zone, wherein a respective priority value assigned to eachof the at least one zone differs depending upon a time of day; andproviding an indication of the call to all devices located within aselected zone of the at least one zone based on the time of day.
 16. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the operations furthercomprising connecting the call to a device that first answers the call.17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the operationsfurther comprising connecting the call to the designated device when nodevice answers the call.
 18. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 15, the operations further comprising: maintaining a plurality ofspecific identifiers, each specific identifier of the plurality ofidentifiers being an identifier of a respective one of the plurality ofdetected devices; and providing, via respective specific identifiers,the indication of the call to the plurality of devices.
 19. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 18, the operations furthercomprising: adding to a list of the plurality of specific identifiers, aspecific identifier of a device upon entering the area of coverage; andremoving from the list a specific identifier of a device upon exitingthe area of coverage.
 20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim15, the operations further comprising: upon connecting the call to aselected one of the plurality of devices that differs from thedesignated one of the plurality of devices, facilitating communicationsto provide an appearance that the call is connected to the designatedone of the plurality of devices.